Writing effective call-to-action phrases is vital to the success of any marketing campaign.
The call-to-action (CTA) is a phrase used to capture a visitor’s attention and motivate them to act by clicking on a specific button or buying an item.
A good CTA can significantly improve your conversion rates, but writing it perfectly takes time, practice, and creativity…A lot of creativity!
If you’re not a pro yet at writing call-to-action phrases, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
Let’s dive right in!
What is a call-to-action in marketing?
A call-to-action in marketing is a message that prompts your visitors to do something, whether by clicking on a button, signing up for your newsletter, or purchasing something.
Its main goal is to convert visitors into customers.
Whether you write a blog post, an email marketing message, or a text-based landing page, you must have a call-to-action or CTA to increase your chances of converting those readers.
It’s important to remember that cta buttons or goal-oriented texts should not be simply copy-and-pasted. Rather, they should be customized to each page and unique to each page’s objective.
What are the types of call-to-action?
There are multiple forms of call to action, and a few of them are most popular than others, depending on the business and its goals:
1. CTAs in Landing Pages
2. CTAs in Emails
3. CTA in Social Media
4. CTAs on Blogs
5. CTAs for Mobile Apps
6. CTAs in Popups
We’ll see how successful businesses use this simple yet powerful marketing tactic to convert thousands of visitors and grow their brands.
1. CTAs on Landing Pages
Many brands use landing pages to capture leads, encourage online purchases, and improve customer engagement.
However, the best landing pages aren’t only a thing of aesthetics but a combination of great visuals, a clear message, and strong CTAs.
Call-to-action phrases on landing pages can make or break your marketing campaigns.
For instance, if your landing pages are beautifully designed, mobile friendly, and have eye-catching colors, but your call-to-action phrases aren’t on point, it can turn off your reader and even put you off your brand.
However, if the landing pages are a little more basic and minimal, then your call-to-action phrases need to be on point to motivate your visitors and get them to convert.
2. CTAs in Email Marketing Messages
More and more small businesses are embracing the power of email marketing to build relationships and promote their products or services.
Email marketing messages paired with vital call-to-action phrases can bring you a steady flow of leads you can nurture and convert into customers.
Your CTA buttons or CTA texts in an email should stand out from the rest of your message. In addition to this, they should be designed in a way that it catches the eye of your reader.
Otherwise, you might get a poor click-through rate and conversion rate.
3. CTA in Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to gain exposure, generate leads and interact with potential customers.
However, it’s not always easy to get people to click on your CTAs because social media is often known as interruptive marketing.
So, if you want to convert your social media traffic, you need excellent creative skills to make the readers stop looking at that cute puppy photo and click on your CTAs.
4. CTAs on Blogs
Blogging is a fantastic way to increase your brand’s exposure, grow an audience, scale your business, and start new relationships.
If you want to convert readers into subscribers or customers, your content must be high-quality otherwise, who’ll want to buy from you if your content is pure crap or thin or dull?
After creating super valuable content that resonates with your readers, do not forget to add some powerful CTAs in multiple prominent places.
5. CTAs in Mobile Apps
If you run a mobile app and want to convert your free users, you must ensure that your CTA phrases are at the top of your target’s minds.
It may seem small, but if you have a catchy and attention-grabbing CTA that gets your existing users to click through, you can turn them into lifetime customers.
6. CTAs in Popups
Popups are an effective marketing tool that should contain great headlines and call-to-action phrases. If a visitor clicks to exit the popup, you can miss out on the opportunity to convert him.
So, the headline and the CTA should be strong enough to make them continue engaging with your brand.
You need to get creative with your call-to-action phrases to increase your conversion rate and stand out from the crowd.
It’s not just about writing any call-to-action phrase like “Click here now” or “Buy now.”
You must get creative and use a call-to-action sequence to maximize conversions and sales.
A call-to-action sequence is a series of CTAs placed in your marketing message.
Each CTA prompts the reader to take one step further with each step on their journey towards conversion. Let’s see how you can create an irresistible call to action that converts.
What makes a good call to action?
A great call-to-action needs to differentiate itself from its competitors and set itself apart. It should also be personalized, so it works on the visitor’s level.
The most successful calls to action are often those that can be remembered easily (after all, you want your customers to take action).
So, each CTA sentence or phrase used in your marketing campaign must have a memorable hook or phrase that stands out above the others.
Hence being able to grab the attention of visitors in the first place.
What Do Great Call-to-Action Phrases Have in Common?
Writing Calls to Action is not only about the perfect wording but also about the structure and tone of your text.
People attracted to a particular product may do so for several reasons, whether its aesthetic appeal or an emotional connection associated with the brand.
Let’s look at the characteristics of a great call to action.
1. Eye-Catching
A call-to-action button should stand out, grab attention and catch the visitor’s eye.
When designing your call-to-action buttons, use the right color to encourage the visitor to drag his mouse over your CTA button.
Colors are scientifically proven to affect our emotions, and eye-tracking data shows that blue is the most prominent color on a web page (particularly on CTA buttons).
However, you can do so if you want to use your brand color to stay consistent across all your marketing strategies.
If you have a neutral brand color, you have to ensure that your button is large enough to capture the reader’s attention.
2. Personalization
Some call-to-action phrases are more effective than others because of a subtle personalization tactic.
People do not like to be bombarded with sales emails, let alone be sold by a robot. However, when an offer is presented to someone in a customized manner, it changes the game.
You must make your readers feel you care about them and their needs. And the first way to express that feeling is by talking to them in a personal way.
So, do not forget to capture their names so you can send them personalized emails and CTAs. Another way to personalize the CTA is by using QR codes as the CTA. QR codes can be created easily using one of these best QR code generators. You could also go for other personalization tactics.
3. Clear and Precise
Make sure your call-to-action phrases help the visitor understand what they should do by looking at them.
This can be done using simple yet compelling wording that is not overloaded with unnecessary information.
Your call-to-action buttons should tell your visitors what you want them to do and how you want them to do it.
A good CTA will help drive your sales and increase conversions by encouraging action. It should be simple, customized, catchy, and persuasive.
How do you write an irresistible call to action?
Time to learn how to write the perfect call to action by using the proper and enticing call-to-action phrases to drive up those sales and conversions.
1. Be Bold in Your Call
The main objective of a call to action is to persuade your visitors to take action. So, be authoritative and start your call with an imperative statement.
For instance, if you want your visitors to buy a product, write something like “Buy Now” or “Click Here.”
2. Use an Outrageous Proposition
It’s not about making an outlandish promise but about making your visitors feel like they’re living a life-changing experience.
Highly successful call-to-action phrases come from strong statements that offer an exclusive and irresistible deal.
For instance, use a statement such as “Save 20% for Life”,” or “Purchase Now and Get two Free Items.”
3. Offer Something of Value to Your Readers
A good call to action should be framed as an offer that brings value in exchange for an action.
Tell the visitors what is on the other side of that CTA button or CTA text for them to take action.
If you want to encourage your visitors to subscribe to your newsletter, then write something like “Join our newsletter and get a free ebook” or something related to the value-getting process of your call-to-action phrases.
4. Be Direct
A direct call to action will compel your visitors to perform immediate action. If you want your visitors to start immediately, tell them what they should do.
Online users love to be told what to do. Otherwise, they do nothing! It’s crazy, but it’s how the internet shapes us.
So, be clear, precise, and bold in your request so they know exactly what action they should take to get what they want.
5. Create Urgency
We’re seeing more and more countdown timers in sales emails, landing pages, or ads. This is a great way to create a feeling of urgency and compel immediate action.
So, if you want your visitors to make a purchase immediately before the price increases, use urgency language.
It’s well known that people express more fear of losing something than they do of gaining something.
So, by using the scarcity element in your call-to-action phrases, you can make people more “anxious” to click on your call-to-action button and increase your sales.
For example, by writing something like “last chance” or “only today,” you can increase your site’s conversion rate tremendously.
Sometimes, it’s not about what you say but what you don’t say.
They will never know if you never tell your visitors about the limited-time deal or exclusive giveaway.
And this is a great way to increase sales and conversions.
6. Be Clear
Avoid unnecessary clutter in your CTA phrase.
You want to get straight to the point and never lure your visitors into lengthy details or write a long sentence or paragraph which will confuse them and turn them off.
7. Use Appropriate Words
Use action words in your call-to-action phrases to get those conversions.
Action words are more powerful and engaging than their counterparts. For example, instead of saying “Learn More,” use “Learn Now.”
Use the proper wording to communicate to your potential customers that you have the solutions to their problems instead of just trying to be sales.
Remember that you must convince people to take action without being pushy.
8. Make it Simple
You last want your prospective customers to become confused and frustrated. Use simple action words to describe what you want them to do.
You want them to buy a particular product or service, but don’t forget that your call to action phrase should also be easy to understand.
9. Engage Emotionally
Using words that will trigger certain emotions in your readers can significantly impact their actions.
A word or phrase can influence the power of persuasion, so use it wisely.
Emotional words or phrases in your call to action drive a more effective response and conversion.
10. Be Persuasive
You want your call to action phrase to be persuasive and reason-based, giving your readers more reasons why they should buy from you. So, convince them using different techniques such as a guarantee, an exclusive deal, or a limited offer.
Give them a reason to click!
Wrap Up
A call to action is an essential part of your marketing campaign. It is what determines whether the visitor takes action or not.
So you have to ensure that it creates the proper response to generate great click-through rates and achieve your business goals.
With just a little creativity and hard work, you can write killer call-to-action phrases that will drive sales and increase conversions on your website.
Want to put these tips into practice and drive more conversions? Sign up for a free account on Poptin and try their high-converting popups.
Author Bio:
Nat Caesar is the Owner & Head of Growth at Myndset, a content marketing solution provider for SaaS & Startups. She is a passionate digital entrepreneur, and she’s been building and growing digital assets since 2014.
